Wat Preah Yesu ( km, វត្តព្រះយេស៊ូ, ) is a children's

orphanage An orphanage is a residential institution, total institution or group home, devoted to the care of orphans and children who, for various reasons, cannot be cared for by their biological families. The parents may be deceased, absent, or ab ...

, school and church located outside the town of Siem Reap in Siem Reap Province,

Cambodia Cambodia (; also Kampuchea ; km, កម្ពុជា, UNGEGN: ), officially the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochinese Peninsula in Southeast Asia, spanning an area of , bordered by Thailan ...

. As of 2007 it cares for around 134 children.Cambodia - Day 2 :: Rokforce. Rokforce
Retrieved 2009-07-24 Many of the children have been orphaned by

HIV/AIDS Human immunodeficiency virus infection and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) is a spectrum of conditions caused by infection with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), a retrovirus. Following initial infection an individual ...

, and some of them suffer from the disease themselves. The orphanage is run by members of the Seventh-day Adventist Church. The title is derived from the

Khmer language Khmer (; , ) is an Austroasiatic language spoken by the Khmer people, and the official and national language of Cambodia. Khmer has been influenced considerably by Sanskrit and Pali, especially in the royal and religious registers, throug ...

where ''

wat A wat ( km, វត្ត, ; lo, ວັດ, ; th, วัด, ; khb, 「ᩅᨯ᩠ᨰ」(waD+Dha); nod, 「ᩅ᩠ᨯ᩶」（w+Da2)) is a type of Buddhist temple and Hindu temple in Cambodia, Laos, East Shan State, Yunnan, the Southern Provi ...

'' means temple, ''preah'' means sacred and ''Yesu'' means

Jesus Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label= Hebrew/ Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religiou ...

. The overall meaning of the school is "Jesus

pagoda A pagoda is an Asian tiered tower with multiple eaves common to Nepal, India, China, Japan, Korea, Myanmar, Vietnam, and other parts of Asia. Most pagodas were built to have a religious function, most often Buddhist but sometimes Taoist, ...

". The school is known as the "

Cambodia Adventist School – Kantrok Cambodia Adventist School – Kantrok is a K-9 co-educational Christian school located in Siem Reap, Cambodia. Unlike Cambodia Adventist School located in Phnom Penh, it is registered as a Cambodia Adventist Mission rural school but is operat ...

" which is located on the same property. Accommodation is also given to a small number of boarding students who have a home elsewhere.

Structure

The children are grouped into "families" of up to 16 children together with a married couple who serve as "house parents". As of January 2007 there are four duplex houses, with a total of eight planned for the future, which will allow for the accommodation of 250 children.Orphanage
Salt Ministries. Retrieved 2009-07-24 The staff at Wat Preah Yesu are considered

volunteer Volunteering is a voluntary act of an individual or group freely giving time and labor for community service. Many volunteers are specifically trained in the areas they work, such as medicine, education, or emergency rescue. Others serve ...

s, and include teachers, house parents and general staff. The leaders Tim and Wendy Maddocks are Australian citizens.

History

The 19 hectare property was purchased in March 1996 for

US$ The United States dollar (symbol: $; code: USD; also abbreviated US$ or U.S. Dollar, to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies; referred to as the dollar, U.S. dollar, American dollar, or colloquially buck) is the official ...

10,000. A health center operated for several years but was closed due to government/council regulations.

Mission trips

Groups from Marienhoehe College in Darmstadt,

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

; and the Collegedale Church at

Southern Adventist University Southern Adventist University is a private Seventh-day Adventist university in Collegedale, Tennessee. It is owned and operated by the Southern Union Conference of Seventh-day Adventists. It was founded in 1892 in Graysville, Tennessee, as G ...

in Collegedale,

Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...

have regularly contributed voluntary service. In December 2006 a team from

Avondale College Avondale College is a state coeducational secondary school located in the central Auckland, New Zealand, suburb of Avondale. With a roll of students from Years 9–13 (ages 12–18), it is the third largest secondary school in New Zealand. ...

in Australia also provided volunteer service. In December 2007/January 2008, a team of 40 volunteers from Kellyville Seventh-day Adventist Church in Sydney, Australia attended the orphanage and helped complete the construction of another house. The team raised $50,000 to help pay for building materials with excess funds being used to purchase an additional generator and much needed everyday items for each home. In late 2009, Avondale School students will revisit it.Students Issue Schoolies Dare
Record. Retrieved 2009-07-24 On November 21-28th, 30 staff and students from Avondale School (Cooranbong, NSW) stayed and had an enjoyable experience.

Cambodia Adventist School – Kantrok

Cambodia Adventist School - Kantrok began in 1999 as a literacy school for poor children. In the year 2004, the school was officially recognised by the Cambodian government as a primary school. Having a Seventh-day Adventist school is important as government schools teach students on Saturdays, which conflicts with Adventist beliefs about the

seventh-day Sabbath The seventh-day Sabbath, observed from Friday evening to Saturday evening, is an important part of the beliefs and practices of seventh-day churches. These churches emphasize biblical references such as the ancient Hebrew practice of beginning a ...

, and many schools will not allow children to have Saturdays off.

References

External links